About Every Year After
The romance genre has gotten a new lease of life thanks to streaming. Amazon Prime Video is doubling down on its book-to-screen adaptations. The latest series that is set to dominate this summer is Every Year After, based on Carley Fortune’s Every Summer After novel. The simple premise is that a former couple reunites after a death, bringing up past feelings and emotions. The friends-to-lovers trope is explored nicely in the eight-part show, which includes plenty of romantic drama for all of its characters. The bingeable show is very similar to another Amazon Prime Video hit, The Summer I Turned Pretty, and could appeal to its fans as well.
Every Year After: Plot
Persephone, aka Percy Fraser (Sadie Soverall), lost the love of her life, Sam Florek (Matt Cornett), at 18 after a terrible impulsive decision. The exes haven’t seen each other since. But they are back in each other’s lives after the death of Sam and Charlie Florek’s (Michael Bradway) mother, Sue (Elisha Cuthbert). Percy returns to Canada’s Barry’s Bay, where she spent every summer for a week and reconnects with her old friends. She and Sam also revisit their past after old secrets resurface.
Every Year After: Writing and Direction
Initially developed by Leila Gernstein and Amy B Harris, the Amazon Prime Video series stays very faithful to Fortune’s book. However, the story is set up to expand further than the current season. The narrative starts out strong as it introduces each character one by one and establishes the co-lead Percy and her failed teenage romance in Barry’s Bay. As Percy returns to the lake from Seattle, the characters end up being trapped in this one-week bubble where time stands still. Matters of great import all occur at the same time as the story keeps moving backwards and forwards in time each episode.
In the second half, where several emotional arcs are introduced, the direction becomes a bit more shaky and less cohesive. The editing remains confusing with the timelines merging into one. Scenes flip back and forth from past to present, with the actors looking the same in both. What does work for the series is its sentimental soundtrack that includes everything from Dolly Parton to Harry Styles’ A Fine Line. The streamer is not cheap in acquiring music rights for its teen dramas. But the biggest negative is that the show is a redux of The Summer I Turned Pretty, with some extra romantic drama.
Every Year After: Performances
The main trio of Every Year After is very strong, and they sell the central conflict, which definitely feels like it’s been borrowed from The Summer I Turned Pretty. Soverall, who will remind fans of similarly named Stranger Things star Sadie Sink, sells Percy’s internal dilemma, especially the guilt and shame she acquires over the years. Cornett and Bradway, as older brother Charlie, have plenty of angst to deal with in the second half, dealing with their mother’s memorial and tension with Soverall’s Sadie.
Amongst the supporting staff, Abigail Cowen’s Delilah takes on the Taylor role of the best friend with aplomb. Aurora Perrineau as Percy’s best friend from Seattle, Chantal, and Joseph Chiu as Sam’s bestie Jordie are mostly expository characters. Unfortunately, the series does not use its adult characters much and it would have been nice to see more of Cuthbert’s Sue, especially with her sons Sam and Charlie.
Every Year After: Final Verdict
Recent hits like The Summer I Turned Pretty and My Life with the Walter Boys have shown us that love triangles between brothers do relatively well with audiences. Here, the story begins with a story about two friends starting a relationship after years of will-they-won’t-they. Soverall and Cornett sell their complicated relationship but eventually, it gets tiring to see almost every character involved in a love triangle. And be forewarned, the series ends on a massive cliffhanger. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this is likely to return for a second season.